British music service Bloom.FM has failed to lock in new investment, and is unplugging for good. It’s a story we have been following closely, notable for its quick ups and downs, and the incisive commentary of the company CEO.
This denouement comes three weeks after a May 1 announcement that the company’s long-time investor, a Russian media company called TNT, abruptly withdrew its investment in Bloom. In our conversation with Bloom CEO Oleg Fomenko, on May 6, the hopeful executive expressed optimism of finding a new investment source. Fomenko has been keeping Bloom fans and interested observers aware of every step on his Twitter page, noting that over 20 investors were exploring options.
In the end, according to an official announcement on Bloom’s Tumblr blog, “We just found out that we were unable to #saveBloomfm. We were very close to coming out the other side of this. But, alas, it wasn’t to be.”
“One day you are ahead, one day you are behind. The race is long and in the end it is only with yourself.” –Oleg Fomenko, CEO, Bloom.FM
Oleg Fomenko believes that massive scale is the answer — many other stakeholders in the streaming-music business agree. The value chain will be redistributed when a large population is engaged with music subscription, enabling the rights-holders to charge smaller percentages for music licensing, Fomenko told RAIN.
“Legal music needs to be more affordable,” Bloom’s official announcement concluded. “When it is, more people will pay for it and all our favourite musicians will benefit. We look forward to someone cracking this challenge. It’s a shame it couldn’t be us.